Living with Insecurities During COVID-19: The Impact of Hard Restrictions on South Asian International Students in Australia

The outbreak of COVID-19 exacerbated the structural vulnerabilities of marginalised populations globally. In Australia, international students experienced various forms of hardship due to state-mandated public health restrictions. In this exploratory study, we discuss the impacts of hard restrictions on South Asian international students studying at universities in Melbourne. Visa temporality, limited work rights, concentration into precarious and low-paid work, obligations to pay costly higher education fees, and exclusion from social security and universal healthcare contribute to the long-term structural vulnerabilities of international students in Australia. With restrictions in Melbourne leading to widespread job loss in the hospitality and accommodation services sectors during 2020-2021, the state response to pandemic caused further marginalisation of internaitonal students.We show how the public health response to the COVID-19 worsened, rather than protected or improved, self-reported health and wellbeing outcomes for our participants. By centring the lived experiences of South Asian international students, our research contributes to a growing body of evidence detailing how the public health response to pandemic has further subordinated temporary visa holders in Australia. In the future, we recommend inclusive, equitable public health responses which universalise key protective measures such as social security support, regardless of citizenship or visa status.

First call, home: perception and practice around health among South Asian migrants in Melbourne, Australia.

The socio-cultural context of populations has a significant effect on health outcomes across every stage of life. In Australia, South Asian migrants have a comparatively higher incidence of chronic disease and less use of health services. Often overlooked are community views of health, cultural traits and belief systems. This study aimed to explore the factors that influence health perception and practice of South Asian migrants. The study used a mixed method approach with both a survey and interviews. A total of 62 participants between the age of 18 and 64 years were surveyed and 14 participants completed interviews. Data were analysed descriptively and thematically. South Asians share a common perception and practice around health and illness. This paper highlights two key findings. First, these groups take a broad view of health encompassing physical, mental, emotional, social and economic aspects of life. Second, these cultural groups do not seek medical help as their first choice, but have a high level of trust in family for providing health advice and share a belief in the effectiveness of home remedies for managing health conditions. Participants shared their expectation that the Australian health system should consider their socio-cultural construct to make services culturally safe and engaging to enhance service utilisation.

Too long to wait: South Asian migrants' experiences of accessing health care in Australia.

BACKGROUND: Migrants settling in a new country experience multiple complexities in navigating health care systems and adapting to a new way of life in the host country. In South Asia, migrating to another country for better life opportunities has been an ongoing trend and migration to Australia has significantly increased in recent years. Lower utilisation of health services and higher risks of chronic diseases among South Asian migrants poses a continuing challenge for the Australian health care system and little is known about why this demographic group does not access health services at the same rate. This study aimed to explore factors influencing access to health care by South Asian migrants in Australia. METHODS: Using a mixed-method design, we conducted 62 online survey and 14 in-depth interviews with participants from four South Asian countries: Nepal, India, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. Participants were recruited using a purposive snowball sampling approach following a standard ethical approval process. Survey data were analysed descriptively in SPSS and interview data were recorded, transcribed, and analysed thematically. RESULTS: South Asian migrants experienced various complexities while accessing health services in Australia. The findings of this study highlighted a number of negative factors influencing their experiences of accessing health care: long waiting times for public health care, the expense of private health care, and communication problems due to socio-cultural differences. South Asian migrants also expressed their concern for a greater investment of resources into public health care to enable them to access quality and affordable care in these settings. CONCLUSIONS: Given limited evidence available to help understand factors leading to the lower utilisation of health care and higher risks of chronic diseases among South Asian migrants, this study plays an important role in highlighting social, cultural, financial, and institutional factors that are critical to designing appropriate health-care strategies. This study recommends incorporating a collaborative and culturally competent model of care to increase access to health care and thereby help reduce existing disparities in health outcomes among South Asian migrant populations.